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BHistory
History · Thomasville

Thomasville’s post office opened in 1888, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns · #57 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it

Most of Thomasville was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 157 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1973 on, and the census since 1890.

1888first post office
2on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Thomasville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Thomasville began

When was Thomasville founded?

1888

The Thomasville post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Choctaw Corner (1850) and Atkeison (1889), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 291 in 18902020 census: 3,649138 years

How historic is Thomasville?

B

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Thomasville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Thomasville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Thomasville is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #57 of 187 in Alabama. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Thomasville’s overall grade.
Founding era1888, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19405.6% of homes (±5.1) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register2 listings, 157 historic buildings, 434 per 10,000 residents · typical AL town 2.7 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 58%
NewerOlder
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 70%

Alabama towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Alabama town has 2.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Thomasville’s 434 sits above most of its state (95% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 157 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Thomasville’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Thomasville Historic District takes in 157 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Thomasville, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 157 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
157
each building in a district counts
first listed
1999
Thomasville Historic District
Thomasville Historic DistrictAirmount Grave Shelter, built 1853
DistrictsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Multi-story commercial block1
One-story commercial block1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Queen Anne1
L-shaped cottages1
Thomasville Historic DistrictMulti-story commercial block
Airmount Grave ShelterBuilt 1853

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Help out

Start Thomasville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Thomasville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBirdseye view of Thomasville 1880s: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Thomasville’s post office has been open since 1888. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Choctaw Corner
1850–1907
Thomasville
1888–today
Atkeison
1889–1923
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AtkeisonChoctaw CornerFinley Crossing
Gone or out of use
Atkieson StationlocaleCarlstons MilllocaleThomasville Air Force Stationmilitary
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Thomasville
Choctaw CornerMcFadden Memorial Gardens

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Thomasville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Thomasville.

Read it all →

Thomasville was founded in 1888 and incorporated on November 24 of that year. The former community of Choctaw Corner, dating back to the antebellum period, was a settlement west of what would become Thomasville, but when the merchants there learned that a railroad was going to bypass their town to the east, they decided to move their stores to be near the railroad. The former community is now inside the city limits. The tracks between Mobile and Selma were completed the same year that Thomasville began. First referred to as "Choctaw", the town was named after railroad financier and former Union Civil War general, Samuel Russell Thomas, after he donated $500 for the construction of Thomasville's first school. The town had expanded by the end of the 19th century with numerous stores, several hotels and boarding houses, and a depot station. In 1899, what is now downtown was destroyed by a …

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Thomasville, 1850 to 1981

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850Post officeThe Choctaw Corner post office opens
  3. 1853BuiltAirmount Grave Shelter is built
  4. 1880In the archiveBirdseye view of Thomasville 1880s
  5. 1888Post officeThe Thomasville post office opens
  6. 1889Post officeThe Atkeison post office opens
  7. 1896Born hereIvy Griffin is born here
  8. 20th century
  9. 1900In the archiveSouth Alabama Institute in Thomasville, Alabama 1900s
  10. 1907Post officeThe Choctaw Corner post office closes
  11. 1923Post officeThe Atkeison post office closes
  12. 1970Born hereReid Cornelius is born here
  13. 1973On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  14. 1977Born hereEric Campbell is born here
  15. 1981Born hereAnthony Madison is born here
By decade

Thomasville, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1900s2 items
Birdseye view of Thomasville 1880s1880sBirdseye view of Thomasville 1880sSouth Alabama Institute in Thomasville, Alabama 1900s1900South Alabama Institute in Thomasville, Alabama 1900s
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
AL5 South End at US43 Signs2021AL5 South End at US43 SignsIllinois National Guard2018Illinois National GuardUS43sRoad-AL154sign-Thomasville2014US43sRoad-AL154sign-Thomasville
On the map

Thomasville on the map, 1973 to 1986

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Thomasville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Thomasville on the 1973 USGS mapThomasville on the 1986 USGS map1973Thomasville sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Thomasville.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Birdseye view of Thomasville 1880s
Retake this viewBirdseye view of Thomasville 1880s, 1880s

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Thomasville’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Thomasville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,649

Between 291 and 4,649 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Thomasville’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Thomasville

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Eric CampbellAmerican basketball player · b. 1977
Anthony MadisonPlayer of American football · b. 1981
R
Reid CorneliusAmerican baseball player · b. 1970
I
Ivy GriffinAmerican baseball player · b. 1896
T
Thomas JacksonAmerican politician · b. 1949
M
Monroe ParkerAmerican minister · b. 1909

Questions about Thomasville’s history

What year was Thomasville founded?

The Thomasville post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Thomasville rank for history?

Thomasville is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #57 of 187 in Alabama. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Thomasville?

Two places: the Thomasville Historic District (listed 1999) and the Airmount Grave Shelter (2000).

How old are the homes in Thomasville?

6% of Thomasville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1980.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (5), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.